TX 916 
• K2 A4 
1911 
Copy 1 



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STATE OF KANSAS 



DEPARTMENT OF 



THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 



Hotel Inspection Law 



Rules and Regulations. 



Suggestions to Inspectors, Etc. 



Second Edition, 
May, 1911. 



STATE PRINTING OFFICE, 
TOPEKA, 1911. 



LTF96- 001202 



STATE OF KANSAS 



DEPARTMENT OF 

THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 



Hotel Inspection Law. 



Rules and Regulations, 



Suggestions to Inspectors, Etc, 



Second Edition, 
May, 1911. 



STATE PRINTING OFFICE. 
TOPEKA, 1911. 



K** 



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Officers of the Department. 



S. J. CRUMBINE, M. D., 

Secretary State Board of Health and Chief Food and Drug 

Inspector, Topeka, Kan. 



WILLIAM J. V. DEACON, 
Assistant Chief Food and Drug Inspector. 



Six Traveling Department Inspectors. 



Local Fire Marshals or Fire Chiefs. 



Local Health Officers. 






ft 



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^Kansas Hotel Inspection Law. 



Chapter 148— Session Laws of 1909. 
b Chapter 51, Sections 4005 to 4Q21 Inclusive, General. 
Statutes, 1909. 

An Act relating to public health and safety, 
and providing for the regulation and inspec- 
tion of hotels and public lodging-houses, em- 
powering the State Board of Health to make 
rules and regulations in relation thereto, and 
providing penalties for the violation thereof. 

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of 

Kansas : 

Section 1. Any building or structure kept, 
used or maintained as, or advertised as, or 
held out to the public to be, and every hotel 
or public lodging-house or place where sleep- 
ing accommodations are furnished for pay to 
transient guests, whether with or without 
meals, shall, for the purposes of this act, be 
defined to be a hotel. And whenever the word 
hotel shall occur in this act it shall be con- 
strued to mean every such structure as is de- 
scribed in this section. 

Sec. 2. Every hotel that is more than two 
stories high shall be provided with a hall on 
each floor extending from one outside wall to 
the other, and each end of such hall shall be 
equipped with an ample opening and with an 
iron fire-escape on the outside of the building, 
connected with each floor above the first, and at 
each opening to such fire-escape a red light shall 
be placed and kept burning during all hours in 
the night-time. An automatic gong shall be 
placed near the center of the building on each 
floor which can be operated from the office or 
ground floor. And in all hotels containing fifty 
or more rooms a competent night-watch shall be 
kept on duty from nine p. M. to six A. M., whose 
duty it shall be to patrol the house not less than 
once every hour, and which hotel operator shall 

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provide such watchman with a time-keeper or 
some suitable device made to insure the punctual 
performance of his duty. Such fire-escapes shall 
be well fastened and secured, and shall have a 
landing not less than six feet in length and three 
feet in width, guarded by an iron rail not less 
than thirty inches in height, at each floor above 
the ground floor. Such landings shall be con- 
nected with each other by iron stairways not less 
than two feet wide, with steps of not less than 
six inch tread, placed at an angle of not more 
than forty-five degrees, and protected by well- 
secured hand-rails on both sides of such stair- 
ways and reaching to the first floor above the 
ground floor, and with a drop-ladder twelve 
inches wide from the lower platform reaching to 
the ground from the lower platform. Such fire- 
escape shall be sufficient if a perpendicular iron 
ladder to be used between the platforms instead 
of the stairways, provided such ladder is placed 
at the extreme outside of the platforms and at 
least three feet from the wall of the building, 
and provided said ladder is equipped with iron 
rounds not more than fifteen inches apart and 
not less than three-quarters of an inch in thick- 
ness. The way of egress to such fire-escapes 
shall at all times be kept clear and free from all 
obstructions of every nature and kind. Storm- 
doors and storm windows shall be considered ob- 
structions, for the purposes of this act, and such 
way of egress shall at all times be kept unbolted. 
There shall be posted and maintained in a con- 
spicuous place in each hall, except the halls on 
the ground floor, a printed notice, in characters 
not less than three inches high, in each hall, call- 
ing attention to and directing the way to such 
fire-escapes. 

Sec. 3. Each and every such hotel shall be pro- 
vided with at least one efficient chemical or other 
efficient fire-extinguisher on each floor for every 
fifteen hundred square feet or less of floor area. 
On each floor such extinguishers shall be placed 
in convenient locations in the public hallway out- 
side of the sleeping rooms, and shall always be 
in condition for use; or in lieu thereof such ho- 
tels located in cities having water-works shall be 



equipped with a not less than two-inch stand-pipe 
with two-inch hose connection on each floor and 
with two-inch hose of sufficient length on each 
floor to reach and throw water into all rooms and 
on all parts of such floors, which hose shall al- 
ways be attached to such stand-pipe, and which 
stand-pipe shall always be connected with city 
water-mains with water turned on, or supplied 
with other adequate pressure. 

Sec. 4. Every hotel shall provide in each bed- 
room or sleeping apartment above the first floor 
a rope of such size and character, or other appli- 
ance, as shall be prescribed by the State Board 
of Health. One end of such rope shall be se- 
curely fastened to an iron chain, or other appli- 
ance which shall be approved by the State Board 
of Health, of sufficient length to reach outside 
the window-sill, which chain shall be attached to 
the joists, window-frame or studding of the 
building in the room as near the window as prac- 
ticable, and such chain and rope shall be kept 
coiled and in plain sight at all times, and shall 
not be covered by curtains or other obstructions. 
Each hotel shall provide and maintain in a con- 
spicuous place in each bedroom or sleeping apart- 
ment above the ground floor a notice printed in 
large letters calling attention to such rope and 
chain and giving directions for its use. 

Sec. 5. The shaft of each passenger or 
freight elevator in each hotel equipped with 
such passenger or. freight elevator hereafter 
erected or remodeled shall be enclosed with an 
iron sheathing, brick or stone, as nearly air- 
tight as is practicable, and with tight doors to 
such shaftway, or there shall be automatic trap- 
doors at each floor in such shaft, either of which 
appliances shall be built in the most approved 
manner for the prevention of the spreading of 
fires by means of such shaft. 

Sec. 6. Each hotel located in any town or 
city having a system of sewerage shall be well 
drained, constructed and plumbed according to 
approved established sanitary principles, and all 
hotels shall be kept clean and in a sanitary condi- 
tion throughout and free from effluvia arising 
from any sewer, drain, privy or other source 



within the control of the owner, manager, agent 
or other person in charge of such hotel, and 
shall be provided with water-closets or privies, 
properly screened, for the separate use of males 
and females, which water-closets or privies shall 
be disinfected as often as may be necessary to 
keep them at all times in a sanitary condition. 
Sec. 7. Each hotel shall hereafter provide 
each bed, bunk, cot or other sleeping-place for 
the use of guests with clean sheets of sufficient 
width and length to reach the entire width and 
length of the bed, and with the upper sheet to 
be of sufficient length to fold back over the 
bedding at the upper or head of such bed, bunk, 
cot or other sleeping-place. 

Sec. 8. All parts of each hotel, including out- 
buildings, shall be kept clean and free from dust 
and deposits of dirt of all kinds, and all doors 
and windows shall be properly screened to pre- 
vent flies and insects of all kinds from getting 
into the building; and all beds, bunks, cots and 
other sleeping-places and all sleeping-rooms shall 
be disinfected once in each three months. Such 
disinfecting shall be done in accordance with 
rules to be prescribed by the State Board of 
Health. 

Sec. 9. Each hotel shall furnish each guest 
with clean individual towels in each room so oc- 
cupied by such guest, and with clean sheets and 
pillow-slips for the bed, bunk, cot or other sleep- 
ing-place to be occupied by such guest. 

Sec. 10. In each hotel the kitchen, dining- 
room, cellar, office, ice boxes, refrigerators and 
all places where foods are prepared, kept or 
stored shall be kept clean, and in a sanitary con- 
dition. 

Sec. 11. Each owner, manager, agent or per- 
son in charge of any hotel, who shall fail to 
comply with any of the provisions of this act 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten 
dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, and 
each day after sufficient notice has been given 
that such hotel is carried on in violation of any 



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of the provisions of this act shall constitute a 
separate offense. 

Sec. 12. The State Board of Health is hereby 
authorized and directed to make rules and regu- 
lations necessary to carry this act into effect. 

Sec. 13. The chief food and drug inspector 
and his duly appointed assistants and the county 
health officer of each county, the city health 
officer and the fire marshal of each city, are 
hereby constituted inspectors of hotels, and 
under the direction of the secretary of the State 
Board of Health each hotel in this state shall be 
inspected at such times as he may direct, and 
such inspectors are hereby granted police power 
to enter any hotel and any part thereof at any 
time to inspect and examine the same, to deter- 
mine whether or not the provisions of this act 
are being complied with. 

Sec. 14. Any person who shall obstruct or 
hinder an inspector in the proper discharge of 
his duties under this act, or who shall operate 
such hotel or keep the same open to the public 
after an inspection thereof as provided in this 
act, and obtaining the certificate authorized to 
be issued by this act, shall be guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not 
less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred 
dollars. And each day that such hotel shall be 
open to the public after such inspection, and 
before the payment of such fees, shall be a sep- 
arate offense. 

Sec. 15. That each inspector upon inspecting 
any hotel shall report the condition of such hotel 
to the secretary of the State Board of Health, 
who shall, if such hotel complies with the laws 
of this state and with the rules and regulations 
made by the State Board of Health, heretofore 
in effect, issue a certificate to that effect and 
deliver the same to the owner, manager, agent 
or person in charge of such hotel, which shall be 
conspicuously displayed in the office of such hotel 
and which certificate shall show the date of such 
inspection. 

Sec. 16. That the secretary of the State 
Board of Health shall keep a record showing the 

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date of inspection, by whom inspected, the hotel 
inspected, the name of the owner, keeper or 
manager thereof, the location of the hotel, and 
such other facts as the State Board of Health 
may require. 

Sec. 17. It shall be the duty of the county 
attorney of each county to prosecute all persons 
violating any of the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 18. This act shall take effect and be in 
force from and after its publication in the official 
state paper. 

Approved March 2, 1909. 

Published March 5, 1909. 



Rules and Regulations. 



At the annual meeting of the State Board of 
Health, held June 1, 1909, the following regu- 
lations were unanimously adopted, which regu- 
lations are made in accordance with chapter 148, 
Session Laws of 1909, known as the " Hotel In- 
spection Law ": 

GENERAL. 

REGULATION 1. 

Inspection. 

The inspection of hotels shall be divided into 
two general subdivisions: the inspection of fire- 
protection apparatus and the inspection of sani- 
tary conditions. As specifically required by law, 
rules and regulations, the fire marshal or fire 
chief is hereby charged with the supervision of 
construction and inspection of fire-escapes and 
all fire-protection apparatus and appliances of 
every description, including fire-escapes, gongs, 
ropes and rope devices, lights, notices, etc., and 
the local health officer is hereby charged with 
the inspection of sanitary conditions required 
under the law; and the fire marshal and local 
health officer shall conjointly make and certify 
to the inspection prior to the issuance of certifi- 
cate to the hotel. The food and drug inspectors 
of the State Board of Health are charged with 
the inspection of all hotels, as they go from 
place to place in the performance of their duty 
under the food and drug law. The food and 
drug inspectors shall check the inspection made 
by the local fire marshal and local health officer, 
and observe if hotel has a certificate of inspec- 
tion properly posted, and perform such other 
duties as the law and the State Board of Health 
may direct. 

REGULATION 2. 

Certificates. 
The issuance of a certificate for conducting 
the business of a hotel, as required under the 

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provisions of this law, shall be conditioned 
upon the compliance with the law, rules and 
regulations as certified to by the local inspec- 
tors aforesaid, and the approval of said in- 
spection by the secretary of the State Board of 
Health. 

REGULATION 3. 

Transient guests, 
A transient guest, within the meaning of the 
law, shall be defined as a guest who is not a 
constant and continuous occupant of such hotel, 
or room therein, for more than a month, or not 
boarding by the month, or taking board and 
room for less time than by the month. All 
hotels or public lodging-houses or places where 
sleeping accommodations are furnished for pay 
to transient guests conforming to the definition 
herewith, shall be construed in the definition of 
hotel in accordance with section 1 of chapter 
148, Session Laws of 1909. 

FIRE PROTECTION, 

REGULATION 4. 
Lights, 
At each opening to fire-escape there shall be 
placed a red light, which shall be kept burning 
daring all hours in the night-time. If elecric, 
such red lights shall be on an independent and 
distinct circuit, separate and apart from all 
other electrical circuits in the building. Oil 
lamps may be used, provided the same are 
equipped with a metal bowl. No other form of 
light is permittd to be used. 

REGULATION 5. 
Gongs. 
One or more gongs, not less than ten inches in 
diamater, and large enough to be heard loudly on 
all parts of such floor, shall be placed near the 
center of the building on each floor, which gong 
shall be arranged to operate electrically in con- 
nection with the regular electric supply to the 
building, but will not be permitted to be operated 

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electrically in connection with dry cells. In ad- 
dition to an electrical supply, or in the absence 
of the same, gongs shall be operated by a pull- 
wire. The means for operation of these gongs 
must be so constructed as to be operated from 
the office or the ground floor. The working and 
efficiency of these gongs shall be tested at least 
once every week by the hotel manager, and by 
inspectors on their visits. 

REGULATION 6. 
Watchmen. 
The time-recording device to be used by the 
night-watchman, which is required to be pro- 
vided in hotels containing fifty or more sleeping- 
rooms, must be a standard device approved by 
the National Board of Fire Underwriters, or 
have the written approval of the local fire mar- 
shal or fire chief; and the size and condition of 
the hotel shall be the guide for the frequency of 
patrol, subject to the fire chief's written ap- 
proval; provided, that no portion of the hotel, 
from the basement to the top floor, shall be vis- 
ited less frequently than once every hour from 
nine P. M. to six A. M. 

REGULATION 7. 

Fire- escapes. 

Fire-escapes shall be well fastened and se- 
cured, and shall be of such number and of such 
material, design and construction as shall re- 
ceive the written approval of the local fire 
marshal or the fire chief, as provided herein, 
and shall have a landing not less than six feet 
in length and three feet in width, guarded by 
iron rails, the first of which shall be not less 
than twelve inches from platform, and the sec- 
ond not less than thirty inches from platform, 
or in lieu thereof may be guarded by a single 
rail not less than thirty inches from the plat- 
form, with heavy screen-wire or grille from rail 
to platform, the screen or grille to be securely 
fastened to platform and rail, at each floor 
above the ground floor. Such landings shall be 
connected with each other by wrought or mal- 

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leable iron or steel stairways not less than two 
feet wide with steps of not less than six inches 
tread, placed at an angle of not more than 
forty-five degrees, protected by two or more 
well-secured guard-rails on both sides of such 
stairways, and reaching to the first floor above 
the ground floor, and with a drop-ladder not 
less than eighteen inches wide from the lower 
platform reaching to the ground. Such fire- 
escapes shall be sufficient if a perpendicular 
iron or steel ladder be used between the plat- 
forms instead of the stairways, provided such 
ladder is placed at the extreme outside of the 
platform and at least three feet from the wall 
of the building, and provided said ladder is 
equipped with iron rounds not more than fifteen 
inches apart and not less than three-fourths inch 
in thickness and the side rails of which are not 
smaller than three-eighths by two inches if 
rectangular, or one and a half inch gas-piping if 
round. In all cases there shall be a ladder ex- 
tending from the topmost platform to at least 
three feet above the fire wall or coping on the 
roof. In no event shall ladders pass directly in 
front of an opening in the wall, nor shall stair- 
ways pass in front of an opening in the wall un- 
less it is structurally impossible to avoid it. 
The provisions of the law las to obstructions to 
egress and the posting of notices must be liter- 
ally observed. Provided, that all iron or steel 
fire-escapes which were constructed prior to the 
passage of the law, and which may receive the 
approval of the local fire marshal, may be ap- 
proved as complying with the provisions of this 
law. Fire-escapes must be kept adequately 
painted at all times to preserve metal parts from 
rust. 

REGULATION 8. 
Fire extinguishers. 
Each and every hotel, regardless of size, shall 
be provided with at least one efficient chemical 
fire extinguisher of approved pattern to every 
1500 square feet or less of floor area on each 
floor. The only type of chemical fire extinguisher 
approved by the State Board of Health is the 
carbonic acid gas hand fire extinguisher, which 

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bears the label of approval of the Underwriters' 
Laboratories Incorporated. Neither chemical 
extinguishers of the breaking-bottle type, dry 
powder or hand grenades will be approved. Such 
extinguishers shall be kept in convenient perma- 
nent locations in the public hallways outside of 
the sleeping-rooms and within easy reach, and 
shall be charged at intervals of not more than 
six months. Extinguishers shall be provided 
with a tag, which tag shall bear the date on 
which the extinguisher was last charged, written 
in ink, and by whom charged. Hotels equipped 
with standpipe and hose, of not less than two 
inches in diameter, attached to a wet pipe, are 
not required to have chemical extinguishers. 

REGULATION 9. 

Blind rooms. 

The maintaining, letting or renting for sleep- 
ing purposes of a so-called blind room or room 
without at least one direct exit to the outside of 
the building or light-wells, air-shaft or courts, is 
absolutely prohibited. 

REGULATION 10. 
Rope, or rope escape devices. 

Every hotel shall provide in each room or sleep- 
ing apartment above the first or ground floor a 
rope not smaller than three-fourths inch in diam- 
eter, attached to an iron chain,,, the chain long 
enough to reach outside the window-sill, which 
chain shall be securely fastened to the casing or 
wall at a point not lower than three and one-half 
feet above the window-sill, the rope to be of 
sufficent length to reach the ground. Such rope 
must be free from knots. 

In lieu of the above-described rope and chain, 
there may be used any form of rope fire-escape 
device or portable ladder approved by the State 
Board of Health. Such chain and rope or escape 
device shall be kept in plain sight at all times 
and shall not be covered by curtains or other ob- 
structions. Rope must be so reeled as to insure 
freedom from tangle or knots when put to use, 
and be kept within easy reach. A card bearing 

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the words 

than three inches high, and printed in large 
letters, calling attention to such rope and chain 
or escape device, and giving directions for its 
use, shall be posted in a conspicuous place in 
each bedroom or sleeping-apartment. 

REGULATION 11. 

Elevator-shafts. 
Passenger or freight elevators hereafter 
erected or remodeled shall be enclosed with an 
iron sheeting, brick or stone, as nearly air- 
tight as possible and with tight doors to shut 
shaft, or there shall be automatic trap-doors in 
each floor of said shaft; provided, that in hotels 
more than three stories in height such elevator- 
shafts shall be enclosed with brick or stone, un- 
less otherwise specifically agreed to and approved 
in writing by the fire marshal or fire chief and 
secretary of the State Board of Health. 

REGULATION 12. 

Gas stoves. 
Wherever gas stoves are used, either for cook- 
ing or heating, they shall be supplied with 
permanent iron piping and vented into a prop- 
erly constructed brick flue. 

* SANITATION. 

REGULATION 13. 

Sewerage, drainage, etc. 

t Each hotel is required to comply literally 
with section 6 of the law, which section is self- 
explanatory. 

REGULATION 14. 

Individual towels, sheets, etc. 

Section 7 and section 9 of the law require that 
each hotel shall provide each bed, bunk, cot or 
other sleeping-place for the use of each guest 
clean sheets, clean pillow-slips; also provide 
clean individual towels. The upper sheet pro- 
vided for each bed, bunk, cot or other sleeping- 

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place shall be of sufficient width and length to 
reach the entire width and length of the bed 
and to fold back over the bedding at the upper 
or head of such bed, bunk, cot or other sleeping- 
place at least fourteen inches. 

REGULATION 15. 

Disinfection. 

Section 8 of the law provides that all sleeping- 
rooms shall be disinfected once in each three 
months, such disinfecting to be done in accord- 
ance with the rules and regulations prescribed 
by the State Board of Health. (See rule 30.) 
Rooms that have been occupied by any person 
or persons having an infectious or contagious 
disease, including the disease of tuberculosis, 
are required to be thoroughly and efficiently dis- 
infected with formaldehyde gas before being 
again occupied. 

REGULATION 16. 

Toilets. 

Water-closets and privies shall be disinfected 
at least once every week, or sufficiently often to 
prevent obnoxious odors or effluvia arising there- 
from. A simple and inexpensive solution may 
be prepared from chlorid of lime one pound, 
water three gallons. This solution to be used 
freely in all closets, privy vaults, sinks, drains, 
etc. 

REGULATION 17.] 

Sanitary condition of foods. 

Section 10 of the law, concerning the sanitary 
condition of the hotel kitchen, dining-room, cellar, 
office, ice-boxes, and all places where foods are 
kept, prepared, or stored, shall be literally ob- 
served. Places and receptacles where food is 
kept or stored are required to be kept mouse- 
and rat-proof and properly screened. Serving- 
tables, trucks, trays, boxes, buckets, knives, 
saws, cleavers and other utensils and machinery 
used in moving, handling, cutting, chopping, 
mixing or serving foods are required to be thor- 

-15- 



oughly sterilized daily by hot water or steam 
and thorough cleansing, and the clothes and hands 
of cooks, stewards and waiters to be clean and 
sanitary. Canned goods when opened, or pre- 
pared foods containing any of the fruit acids, 
are not permitted to be stored in tin or zinc con- 
tainers. 

REGULATION 18. 
Law enforcement. 

The local fire marshal or fire chief and local 
health officer are hereby charged with the en- 
forcement of the law, filing complaint with the 
county attorney in case of the violation of the 
law or the rules and regulations adopted there- 
under, and notifying the State Board of Health 
of such action. 

Published in the official state paper June 7, 
1909. 

I hereby certify that these rules and regulations were the 
rules and regulations approved and adopted by the State 
Board of Health June 1, 1909. 

S. J. CRUMBINE, M. D., 

Secretary. 



Comments, Suggestions, etc. 



The following comments, suggestions and 
recommendations are made for the guidance 
of fire marshals, health officers, inspectors and 
hotel managers, together with rule No. 30 of 
the general health regulations of the State 
Board of Health, which is referred to in regu- 
lation 15 of the regulations of the hotel-inspec- 
tion law, and which is to govern the methods 
and kinds of disinfection approved by the Board 
as applied to hotels. 

FIRE-ESCAPES. 

The following standard for fire-escapes as to 
dimensions and materials have been approved 
and adopted by the State Board of Health, state 
architect, Fire Underwriters' Inspection Depart- 

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ment for Kansas, state factory inspector, and a 
number of fire chiefs in cities of the first class, 
whose experience and assistance have been in- 
valuable in arriving at a safe standard. These 
standards are offered as suggestions to fire mar- 
shals in the enforcement of the statutes per- 
taining to fire-escapes in the state of Kansas. 

Kind of Escape. Under the statutes there 
are certain cases where it seems optional to 
use either stairway or ladder escape, subject to 
the approval of the fire marshal. It is earnestly 
urged in the interest of the protection of women, 
children and aged persons that the stairway es- 
cape be required and preferred under every 
reasonable circumstance. 

Materials. All materials used should be of 
wrought or malleable iron or steel. In no case 
should the use of cast iron be permitted. 

Balconies or Platforms. Balconies or plat- 
forms should not be less than three feet in 
width nor six feet in length, supported by tri- 
angular brackets and reinforced through the 
center of floor frame lengthwise of balcony by 
lj-inch angle-iron riveted to frame across the 
bars. The frame of the balcony to be not less 
than 2xi-inch angle-iron, or 2Jx J-inch rectang- 
ular bar. The floors of all balconies to be made 
of flat iron bars not less than one-fourth to five- 
sixteenths-inch thick by one and one-fourth 
inches wide ; such bars to be set not over one 
inch apart and securely riveted or bolted to the 
frame. 

Hand and Guard-rails. All balconies to have 
top pipe hand-railing not less than 1 to 1J inches 
diameter, the same to be 30 inches above floor 
and securely fastened to the frame. A guard- 
rail shall be placed around balcony, not less than 
12 inches from platform or floor, of 1-inch pipe, 
and securely fastened to frame. In lieu of guard- 
rail, heavy screen or grille work may be used 
instead of guard-rail on approval of fire marshal; 
the ends of top rail to be bolted entirely 
through the wall with a f-inch bolt and a 
4 x 4 x i-inch plate and nut on the inside. 

Brackets. The brackets supporting balconies 

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or platforms should be not less than 2x2xi-inch 
angle-bar or not less than 2x J-inch rectangular 
bar. In all cases brackets to be bolted entirely 
through the wall with not less than 1-inch 
bolt, with a 6 x 6 x i-inch wrought-iron plate and 
nut on the inside wall. Brackets supporting 
balconies or platforms should be spaced not to 
exceed 4J feet from center to center. 

Stairways. Stairways should not be less than 
2 feet wide; steps of not less than 6-inch tread. 
Stairways not to exceed an angle of 45 degrees 
and be protected by a hand-rail on each side 30 
inches high at right angles from the base line of 
stairway. A guard-rail to be placed on either 
side not more than 12 inches high at right angles 
from base line of stairway. In lieu of guard- 
rail, heavy screen or grille work may be used, on 
approval of fire marshal. Stairways should 
reach to the first floor above-ground, with a 
drop-ladder not less than 18 inches wide from 
lower platform reaching to the ground. The 
base sills or stringers of stairway to be not less 
than 2 x 2 x i-inch angle- iron, or 2 \ x J-inch rect- 
angular bar. 

Ladders. Where ladders are used to connect 
the platforms or balconies, such ladders to be 
connected at the extreme outside of the platform 
and at least three feet from the wall of the 
building. Ladders to be not less than 18 inches 
wide and the sides to be 2x|-inch rectangular 
bar or 2-inch diameter gas-pipe. The rounds to 
be | inch thick and set not to exceed 15 inches 
apart. In all cases a ladder shall extend from 
the topmost platform to at least three feet above 
the fire wall or coping on the roof. 

Minimum. The above standards are suggested 
for the minimum size of fire-escape. When by 
reason of probable use by large number of peo- 
ple the above dimensions should be increased in 
size and strength in accordance to the weight to 
be carried. 

FIRE-ESCAPE DEVICES. 

The following rope fire-escape devices have 
been approved by the State Board of Health, 
namely: Davy Automatic, Davy Portable, the 

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Clark's Traveling-man's No. 2, the Small's, the 
Baird Reversible, the Ever-ready, the Wilson, 
the Fort Wayne Automatic, the Boyd and San- 
ders System. While the law permits the use of 
ordinary rope, it is recommended that fiber-cov- 
ered T Vinch cable be used instead of rope in all 
friction devices. 

Note. Rope fire-escape devices which may be 
presented later, meeting the requirements of the 
Board, will be approved. 

CHEMICAL FIRE-EXTINGUISHERS. 

Chemical fire-extinguishers which have been 
approved by the National Board of Fire Under- 
writers have metal labels soldered to the front 
of the cylinders, reading: 

Hand Chemical Extinguisher 

Tested under Supervision of 

Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. 

No. . 



Disinfection. 



Rule 30. Formaldehyde gas and sulphur di- 
oxid are the disinfectants approved by this 
Board. The following rules should be observed 
in the disinfection after all contagious and in- 
fectious diseases, including tuberculosis, typhoid 
fever, and puerperal fever (also for room disin- 
fection under hotel-inspection law) : 

(a) Preparation of room. Whether formal- 
dehyde or sulphur is to be used to disinfect the 
rooms, contents, etc., it is necessary, first, that 
the windows, djors (with the exception of the 
one which is to give exit to the operator), regis- 
ters, openings into, keyholes and all other aper- 
tures through which air can pass, shall be sealed; 
in other words, the rooms should be made as 
near air-tight as possible. Gummed paper, put 
up in rolls, is made for this particular purpose ; 
in lieu of it, however, common newspaper, cut 
into narrow strips and thoroughly wet, may be 

-19- 



used, as it will remain in position long enough 
for the • purpose. The paper used for sealing 
the cracks, whether gummed or not, should be 
wet with a solution of formaldehyde in order to 
disinfect the surface upon which it is to be 
pasted. All surfaces should be exposed as much 
as possible; closet doors opened, and their con- 
tents, together with the contents of drawers, 
removed, scattered about, and the drawers left 
open; mattresses set on end, pillows, bedding, 
clothing, etc., supended from lines stretched 
across the room, or spread out on chairs or other 
objects, so as to expose all sides; books opened 
and the leaves spread—in short, the room and 
its contents so disposed as to secure free access 
of the gas to all parts as fully as possible. Upon 
this preparation largely depends the thorough- 
ness of the disinfection. 

(6) Disinfectants. The approved disinfectant 
is that of formaldehyde gas or sulphur dioxid 
(burning sulphur). 

1. Disinfection by Formaldehyde (or Forma- 
lin). Three methods of procuring the formal- 
dehyde are at present in quite general use— the 
lamps which form formaldehyde gas by heating 
solidified formaldehyde; the lamps which evap- 
orate the solution of the gas and water (and 
commercially known as formalin) ; and the sheet 
method, in which the solution of formalin is 
sprayed upon suspended sheets, from which it 
evaporates and diffuses throughout the room. 
The chief objection to the last two of these 
methods is, that a very long period of time is 
required before all the formaldehyde to be used 
is liberated in the space to be disinfected. This 
naturally allows a considerable quantity of the 
gas to escape by leakage, and also prevents the 
gas from reaching its maximum density quickly. 

A fourth method, and one which has been 
thoroughly tested and worked out by the state 
boards of health, is much more efficient than the 
last two forms spoken of, and certainly cheaper, 
and within the reach of every person or com- 
munity, and is a process which this Board would 
recommend. Earthen jars or tin containers 
should be used— a three-gallon jar for say a pint 

-20- 



and one-half of formalin, which is the necessary 
quantity for 1000 cubic feet of air-space, and a 
five-gallon jar in a room requiring from one to 
two quarts of formalin. If possible, these jars 
should have flaring tops, as the ascending fumes 
more quickly dissipate through the air than in a 
straight jar, from which the fumes go in a straight 
column to the ceiling. Eight ounces of perman- 
ganate powder or permanganate potash should 
be used to each pint of formalin. After the 
room has been thoroughly prepared in the manner 
indicated, these jars should be placed upon the 
floor in the center of the room, with a sufficient 
amount of powdered permanganate in them, and 
the person operating same should beat a hasty 
retreat, closing the door and sealing it. The 
chemical action generated thereby produces suf- 
ficient heat to thoroughly vaporize or liberate all 
the foralhehyde gas contained in the formalin 
solution. Active ebullition takes place, and it is 
sometimes wise to take the precaution to set the 
generator inside another larger jar in order to 
catch any overflow which might result from the 
act of boiling. 

The room to be fumigated should be warmed, 
about 70 deg. F., and the air as moist as possi- 
ble ; the earthen jars or tin containers should 
also be warmed, or wrapped with asbestos or 
some material to retain the heat generated by 
the chemical action, as heat is an important fac- 
tor in completing the liberation of the gas in 
order to get the maximum quantity. After the 
room has remained closed for five or six hours it 
should be opened up as freely as possible to light 
and air. 

2. Sulphur fumigation. Fumigation with sul- 
phur has long been regarded as a reliable method 
of disinfection, but it has been largely super- 
seded by formaldehyde. However, it may be 
used when thought advisable and under certain 
conditions. It has the disadvantage of being a 
bleaching agent, and might therefore destroy 
many articles of clothing, furniture, etc. In old 
buildings, where it is impossible to seal the room 
or infected area, sulphur fumigation may have 
some advantages, in that a large amount may 

-21- 



be consumed, thereby perhaps securing greater 
penetration, and possibly with more effective 
results than could be obtained with formalde- 
hyde. It also has the advantage over formalde- 
hyde in that it kills insects, which, as is well 
known, are frequently conveyors of disease. 

The method of preparing rooms and distribut- 
ing articles therein is the same as described 
above, with the exception of such as would be 
ruined by sulphur fumes. 

Close the room as tightly as possible, place the 
sulphur in iron pans supported by bricks, placed 
in wash-tubs containing a little water; set it on 
fire by hot coals, or with the aid of a spoonful 
of alcohol, and allow the room to remain closed 
for twelve hours. 

For a room above ten feet square, at least 
three pounds of sulphur should be used; for larger 
rooms, proportionately larger quantities. 

Heavy woolen clothing, silks, furs, stuffed bed 
covers, beds and woolen articles which cannot 
be treated with disinfectants should be hung in 
the room during fumigation, their surfaces thor- 
oughly exposed, and their pockets turned inside 
•out. Afterward they should be hung in the open 
air, beaten, and shaken. 

Pillows, beds, stuffed mattresses, upholstered 
furniture, etc., should be cut open and their con- 
tents spread out and thorougly fumigated. 

Carpets are best fumigated on the floor, but 
they should be afterward removed to the open 
air and thoroughly beaten. 

DISINFECTANT SOLUTIONS 

Much of the so-called disinfection practiced is 
wholly inefficient and useless. The burning of 
coffee, tar, sulphur or other substances in the 
sick-room, or in any other part of the house or 
premises operates at most only as a deodorizer 
and does not destroy the germs of the disease. 

It should also be known that many of the prep- 
arations offered for sale as dininfectants, germ- 
killers, etc., are worthless, or nearly so, and 
should never be relied upon. 

Reliable formulas are here given of disinfect- 
ant solutions possessing the required strength 

—22— 



and efficiency, which may be made at much less 
cost than is asked for proprietary preparations. 

DISINFECTANTS TO BE EMPLOYED. 

For general household purposes during the con- 
tinuance of a case of contagious or infectious 
disease, or at other times when needed, the fol- 
lowing formulas for disinfectant solutions are 
both satisfactory and cheap: 

Solution No. 1. Chlorid of lime (bleaching 
powder), one pound; water, three gallons; mix. 
Cost, about three cents per gallon. 

Care should be taken to obtain fresh chlorid 
of lime. 

This solution is so cheap that it can be used 
with great freedom, and it is one of the best dis- 
infectants known. A quart or more per day may 
be used in an offensive vault, and such quantities 
as may be necessary in other places. It may be 
used in a sprinkler in stables and elsewhere. In 
a sick-room it may be used in vessels, cuspidores, 
etc. Sheets and other clothing used by the pa- 
tient may be immersed in a pail or tub of this 
solution, diluted (one gallon of solution to ten of 
water), for two hours, or till ready for the 
wash-room or laundry. This solution is non- 
poisonous, and does not injure white clothing. 

It may also be used for washing the hands or 
other parts of the body which may have been 
exposed to infection from excreta, etc. 

For a free and general use in privy vaults, 
sewers, sink drains, refuse heaps, stables, and 
wherever else the odor of the disinfectant is not 
objectionable, this is one of the cheapest and 
most effective disinfectants and germicides 
available for general use. It should be used so 
freely as to wet everything required to be disin- 
fected. Its odor does not disinfect— only covers 
up other odors. 

Solution No. 2. Corrosive sublimate, one 
ounce; permanganate of potash, one ounce; 
water, eight gallons; mix and dissolve. Label 
"Poison." Cost two to three cents a gallon, 
when chemicals are bought by the pound. Stains 
fabrics, etc. 

Use the same way and for the same purpose 

—23- 



as No. 1. The only advantage this has over 
No. 1 is the fact that it possesses no odor. It is 
poisonous, but its bright purple color will prevent 
its being mistaken for any other solution. It 
should be used in vessels, cuspidors, etc., in case 
of infectious or contagious disease, when solu- 
tion No. 1 is objectionable on account of its odor. 
It is not so good a disinfectant for vaults, sink 
drains, sewers, etc., as the chlorid of lime solu- 
tion. It should not be kept in metallic vessels. 

Solution No, 3. Dissolve one drachm (60 
grains or one-eighth ounce) each of corrosive 
sublimate and muriate of ammonia in one gallon 
of water. Dissolve in a wooden tub, barrel, or 
pail, or an earthen crock. Label " Poison.' ' 
Cost about the same as No. 2. 

Use for the disinfection of soiled underclothing, 
bed linen, etc. Mix solution with equal quantity 
of water and immerse articles for four hours; 
then wring them out and boil them. 

Mixed with an equal quantity of water, solu- 
tion is useful for washing the hands and general 
surfaces of the bodies of attendants and con- 
valescents ; the latter only by direction of the 
physician. 

Solution No. If. Milk of lime (quicklime). 
Slake a quart of freshly burned lime ( in small 
pieces) with three-fourths of a quart of water ; 
or to be exact, 60 parts of water by weight with 
100 of lime. A dry powder of slaked lime (hy- 
drate of lime) results. Make milk of lime not 
long before it is to be used by mixing one part 
of this dry hydrate of lime with eight parts ( by 
weight ) of water. 

Air-slaked lime is worthless. The dry hydrate 
may be preserved some time if it is enclosed in 
an air-tight container. Milk of lime should be 
freshly prepared, but may be kept a few days 
if closely stoppered. 

Quicklime is one of the cheapest of disinfect- 
ants. This solution can take the place of chlorid 
of lime if desired. It should be used freely, in 
quantity equal in amount to the material to be 
disinfected. It can be used to whitewash ex- 
posed surfaces, to disinfect excreta in the sick- 



-24- 



room, or on the surface of the ground, in sinks, 
drains, stagnant pools, etc. 

Solution No. 5. Solution of formaldehyde 
(formalin), six ounces ; water one gallon ; mix. 
Cost, eight to ten cents. Contains a little less 
than two per cent of formaldehyde. 

This solution may be used in the same manner 
as those above described. It has the advantage 
of not bleaching fabrics, and is especially good 
for washing furniture, woodwork, etc. 



—25- 



Index. 



page 

Automatic trap-doors 5 

Blind rooms 13 

Certificates 9, 10 

Comments 16 

Dining-rooms ,, 6, 15 

Disinfection 6, 15, 20 

Drains 5, 14 

Elevator shafts 5, 14 

Fire-escapes 3, 4, 11, 17 

Fire-extinguishers 4, 13, 19 

Fire-escapes, obstruction to 4, 11 

Fire chiefs 7, 9 

Food, sanitary condition of 6, 15 

Gas stoves 14 

Gongs 3, 10 

Health officers ' 7, 9 

Hotel inspection law 3 

Hotels defined 3 

Ice-boxes 6, 15 

Inspection 9 

Inspectors 7 , 9 

Insects 6, 16 

Iron fire-escapes 4, 11 , 17 

Kitchen 6, 15 

Law enforcement 8, 16 

Obstruction to fire-escapes 4, 11 

Penalty 7 

Pillowslips 6, 14 

Prosecution 8, 16 

Rats and mice 6, 15 

Records 7 

Red lights 10 

Rope and rope devices 5, 13, 19 

Rules and regulations 9 

Rule (30), disinfection 19 

Sanitation 6, 15 

Screens '. 6, 15 

Sewerage. 5, 14 

Sheets. 6, 14 

Signs 5, 14 

Stand-pipes and hose 5, 13 

State Board of Health authorized 7 

Suggestions 16 

Toilets 6, 16 

Towels 6, 14 

Transient guests defined 10 

Watchmen 3, 11 

Watch clocks 11 



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